When 47-year-old Linda Weathersby dropped out of high school in 11th grade, she knew her ability to read was shaky and her ability to attract a man to help pay the bills was strong.

So she quit high school — a decision she deeply regrets today.

“I learned that if you were attractive, men would buy you things,” Weathersby said. “In the end, I guess I chose a car and the streets over school. School was hard. Dropping out was easy.”

Now, the mother of five is working daily to strengthen her reading and grammar skills so she can pass the GED. But the process is expected to take at least a year, and as she is working on her academics, she has bills to pay.

She earns some of the money she needs through a new in-house job program at Madison Countians Allied Against Poverty (MadCAAP). Through the new program, called Project H.O.P.E. (Help Overcome Poverty’s Effects!), Linda makes a variety of jewelry and is paid by the piece.

So far, some of the pieces she has helped craft include earrings, bracelets and necklaces. The jewelry varies in style and color, including aqua-colored stone necklaces with a southwestern flair, and understated leather necklaces and bracelets with beads or colorful tassels. Some of the jewelry features oversized Mississippi State and Ole Miss logos.

Thirty-four-year-old Koshiba Myers is responsible for packaging much of the jewelry and is paid by the hour. She is also in the process of learning how to make jewelry, while also working on her reading skills through MadCAAP’s literacy program.

The handmade jewelry will be showcased at a MadCAAP open house set for May 24 from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the MadCAAP headquarters, located at 188 Watford Parkway Drive.

MadCAAP is a nonprofit, Canton-based organization established in 1985 to help address poverty in the Madison County communities of Canton, Flora and Camden. The organization also offers a variety of other services, including personal finance and computer classes, parenting classes, a clothing closet, a community garden, a food pantry, and housing repair.

MadCAAP Executive Director Karen Robison said the jewelry program is designed to help clients who are working on their GEDs to earn money while they are studying. The process of earning a GED can be slow going for some clients, particularly those with weak reading skills.

“There are so many places that won’t hire someone who doesn’t have their GED,” Robison said, adding that the financial need is particularly great among single mothers. “This money they are earning, it might not be a lot, but it’s an incentive — something to encourage them and keep them moving forward.”

Weathersby said that her children, who are 11, 18, 20, 21 and 23, are one of her biggest motivations for continuing to work toward a high school equivalency.

“I just want to show my kids it’s never too late and not to give up,” she said. “I want them to look at me and know that I am still trying — I am doing my best.”

Weathersby said that for years, her children have helped her to fill out job applications and to make sense of other written communication.

“I don’t want to do that anymore,” she said. “I want to do for myself.”

Myers said that she was initially shy about admitting she couldn’t read to MadCAAP volunteers and others.

She said it was that shyness — and a sense of defeat — that made her drop out in 11th grade. Now, she is seeing her own children, who are seven, 10, 11 and 13 working hard in school. “I’m not giving up. I’m not,” she said with quiet conviction, wiping tears from her eyes. “I’m blessed to be here and I am going to do my best.”

As the program continues to grow, interested people will be able to have Project H.O.P.E. jewelry parties in their homes. The jewelry also will likely be featured at some church bazaars, arts and craft fairs and other locations, Robison said.

“We were careful to start small,” she said. “But I think there is great potential in this program. We are excited about all the good that it can do.”

Go to www.madcaap .org or call 601-407-1404 for more information about MadCAAP or Project H.O.P.E.

Karen Robison, back left executive director, and Judy Miller, left front director of marketing, work together with Linda Weathersby, back right and Koshiba Myers, front right as they make handcrafted jewelry as part o PROJECT HOPE. Kathy Matheny/For The Herald

Linda Weathersby measures string of leather that is used to make various styles of jewelry as part of the new in-house job program at Madison Countians Allied Against Poverty (MadCAPP). Kathy Matheny, Kathy Matheny

Robison, right, assists Myers, with a piece of jewelry. Project H.O.P.E. is MadCAAP's "in-house" job program for clients pursuing educational goals through the Adult Literacy program or GED program. Kathy Matheny/For the Herald

Glass and crystal beads and leather is used in making these beautiful bracelets and other pieces of hand crafted jewelry as part of the MadCAAP's in-house Project Hope program. Kathy Matheny, Kathy Matheny